Solved Background only on new Win7/64 installation

[Ncngrr]

I just finished a brand new desktop computer build. One monitor, integrated motherboard graphics.

Everything seemed to go well. Added second monitor. Everything fine. Initiated Download of Saitek X52 Pro (joystick) driver from Saitek.com. Saw, "please wait... Could take several minutes", (or words to that effect). Left room to make dinner. Came back 30 minutes later. Monitors black. Moving mouse did not rouse monitors back to life. Restarted desktop. Logged in to Windows as normal. Desktop came back up on both monitors, but there are no icons, no Start icon (lower left corner), no taskbar, no clock, nothing but background and cursor (which is controllable). Ctrl/Alt/Del does nothing. Right-click on background does nothing. Tried to reload Win7/64 to repair computer (using same OEM System Builder Disk used to install OS), but computer said that that disk didn't have the correct restoral software for the version of Windows on the computer. Right now my computer is just a brightly lit paperweight. Please help!

Thanks.

Scott

 

[andrew129260]

Try this:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/700-system-restore.html

Use option 2.

Restore to a date before today.

 

[Ncngrr]

How do I get to System Restore?

I don't have access to anything but the background. No icons, no Start menu, no taskbar. Ctrl/Alt/Del does nothing. Right-click on background does nothing.

Thanks.

 

[andrew129260]

Click the blue words. That takes you to the tutorial.

 

[Ncngrr]

Created a system recovery disk on my Win7/64 laptop. Put in desktop, received same indication... Something about not compatible with version of Windows on desktop.

 

[andrew129260]

You didn't need to create a recovery disk. Again, read all instructions completely. Do not skip.

See here on how to boot into recovery options:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/666-advanced-boot-options.html

Select repair your computer. This will take you to the system recovery options, which then you can do step 2.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/700-system-restore.html

 

[Ncngrr]

Repair your computer is not an option on the Advanced Boot Options screen.

 

[Ncngrr]

You didn't need to create a recovery disk. Again, read all instructions completely. Do not skip.



OPTION 2 of Tutorial said, "NOTE: This will allow you to restore Windows 7 to a earlier restore point with a Windows 7 installation disc or System Repair Disc from the System Recovery Options screen at bootup.".

I understood this to mean that I needed to create a System Repair Disk, which I did.

 

[Ncngrr]

I'm trying to follow the directions exactly, without skipping any steps.

1. At "Advanced Boot Options" screen, I don't have a "Repair my computer" option.
2. I tried booting from a Win7/64 Repair Disk (created by my laptop), received "System Recovery Options" box that says, "This version of System Recovery Options is not compatible with the version of Windows you are trying to repair. Try using a recovery disk that is compatible with this version of Windows."
3. I tried booting from the OEM Win7/64 System Builder disk, received same response reported in #2, above.
4. I tried booting in Safe Mode, same result as normal mode (only background, nothing else).
5. At "Advanced Boot Options" screen, I tried "Last Known God Configuration (Advanced), accepted terms, selected "Custom (Advanced). Presented with options of "Where do you want to install Windows?", all three options indicated, "Windows cannot be installed to Disk X Partition Y (Windows cannot be installed to this disk. the selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI systems, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks.

Any other ideas?

 

[Ncngrr]

I cleared the CMOS and reset BIOS to default values.

I'm confused about something... when I look at the drive designations, it appears that I have a fairly small C: drive that's RESERVED. And I now have a large E: drive and an X: drive. I wasn't aware of either of those. Regarding hardware, I have only two SSDs: a 120 GB SSD for my OS and a 500 GB for programs, data. I expected the 120 GB SSD would be simply called the C: drive. I didn't tell my computer to partition it into multiple drives, so I don't know where the E: or X: drives come from...

Any thoughts?

 

[Ncngrr]

I resolved my problem. When I got into a position where I could try to do a Windows "Custom" Install, I was thwarted by the Windows installation disk telling me I couldn't load it on Disk 0 Partition 1 because it was configured incorrectly, same for Disk 0 Partition 2. I tried to Format the partitions, but that didn't work. So I "Deleted" the partitions, which caused them to become "Unallocated" and available for me to start the Windows installation process from the beginning.

My computer works again.

Thanks for the help.

Scott

 

[andrew129260]

Ok, no problem. Thank you for the additional information.

1.) Was the oem windows 7 64 bit system builder disk the one you used to install windows?

2.) You stated safe mode still produces the same results. Have you tried all safe mode options? (It should not matter, but it may be worth a try)

3.) See this tutorial here: Start at step 6. Ask any question if you need help on a step.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219533-troubleshooting-windows-7-failure-boot.html

4.) If all of these options fail, we might have to look into a http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

We can still recover your files by either using a ubuntu live cd or using this method: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/93347-copy-paste-windows-recovery-console.html

 

[andrew129260]

Glad you got it sorted! Have a good one!

 

[Ncngrr]

1. Yes, I used the OEM System Builder to install my original copy of Win7/64 Home Premium
2. No, I did not try all Safe Mode options

I'm not concerned about lost files; this is a brand new computer build, so I had no data to lose.

All is good now.

Thanks again for your help?

Scott